Friday, December 27, 2013

Bali Puppet Theatre Festival and Seminar

Sept 22-27 2013

Ubud, Bali, Indonesia

I feel like Swiss tourist
Thomas Platter the Younger who in 1599 was in London and described a
performance Julius Caesar at the Globe Theatre. Except he did not describe it
so much as say it was well done and there was a dance by the performers
afterwards and men played women. When you think of what he could have written
down…and so it was in Ubud.

It is so hard to know what
is important to record, in case the traditions all go down in flames like at
the Globe Theatre.Certainly
there’s a devotion to flames in Balinese theatre as witness the opening cejak (Monkey
Dance) of the Bali Puppet Festival and Seminar where we were worried that the
large monkey army was going to set fire to the wooden stage, so enthusiastic
and spectacular was the throwing around of burning material, backed by a heavy
smell of kerosene.

That may be why this open
air theatre at Setia Darma House of Masks and Puppets backs onto the water
logged rice fields.

Luckily the Bali Puppet
Theatre Festival and Seminar wants to become an ongoing event and seems devoted
to preserving as much tradition as they can, not just from Bali but across
Indonesia and the world. The academic contingent was large, headed by keynote
speaker Professor Dato’ Dr Ghulam-Sarwar Yousof (Senior Academic Fellow,
International Islamic University Malaysia; Expert (Pakar) University Malalya)
who put the case for a deepening investigation of the local traditions
underlying wayang kulit in Java, Bali, Malaysia and Thailand. He also spoke
about hopes for the House of Masks and Puppets to become a world centre for
research.

Alongside the scholarly
sessions it was possible to see a large range of intriguing performances that
showed a huge range of traditions and methods. There were Phillipino puppets
where the head was operated by a strut gripped in the mouth, gently rounded and
funny Iranian puppets, and the fabulous Japanese Otome Bunraku soloist whose
exquisite female puppets and dark stories of love were accompanied by a
wonderfully sombre singer and a sober shamisen player.

There were also marionettes
from Myanmar whose personalities shone. They were a bit over knee height and
heavy to hold but there is something so winning and alive about the upturned
inquisitive faces of these little princes and princesses and dancers.

But it was the local
puppetry, with the local aficionados hanging around the stage and peering in at
the backstage workings, that was often the greatest attraction. None of this
western clearing of the stage of all inessential personnel. Every wayang kulit
was surrounded by people having a look backstage, even in those set ups where
the dalang (puppeteer) sat with back to the audience.They were crowding in to look at technique and skill. And if
the lighting was by oil lamp, the result was like some Eastern Rembrandt, full
of rich skin tones and dark shadows.

I had some idea of what to
expect, having been primed by some research, a little exposure to Thai theatre
forms and the delightful Wayang Kelly done some years ago at the National Folk
Festival. But there were unsuspected things like the Wayang Kancil, where
animals were the characters and where the dalang was very youthful but superbly
confident and a young female narrator and chorus had a hard hitting verve
backed by a skilful gamelan orchestra. Then there was the Wayang Potehi, which
turned out to be in the tradition of Chinese glove puppets, a clear testimony
to the history of Chinese enclaves in Indonesia.

I liked the slowly unfolding
pace of the Wayang Nawa Santhi, and the non shadow Wayang Cing Cing Mong where
wooden heads rolled from shoulders in battle scenes in a way reminiscent of the
hard headed violence of an English Punch and Judy show.

And I was surprised by the
Wayang Beber which does not really use puppets at all. Instead the dalang sits
back to the audience and holds up a scroll of pictures which is rolled on two
sticks as he narrates and the gamelan orchestra plays.

All of this was taking place
in the additional context of Ubud’s nightly parade of theatrical choices and
for a few days before the conference I made sure I saw enough to be able to
identify some forms and stories, catching shadow puppets, monstrous barongs, Ramayana
stories and repeated variations on the cejak that ranged from 100-man monkey
armies to a tiny group of five monkeys encircling Sita and Ravana under a
cunningly used single overhead light.

I had to leave before the end of the conference for the
theatre of a family wedding in Sydney, which meant unfortunately missing some
of the time devoted to more contemporary takes on puppetry and the uses of
modern technology but was able to catch ex Canberran puppeteer Peter Wilson’s
talk on the combination of old and new techniques being used to bring the huge
puppet King Kong to life in Melbourne as well as his work directing, producing
and co- writing Bali Agong for Bali Safari and Marine Park. The huge King Kong
puppet may use modern technology but Wilson showed that the skills of the physical
puppeteer remain crucial.

Artist-curator-collector Agustinus Prayitno[1],
of Setia Darma House of Masks and Puppets mused pertinently before the Festival
on the need to value indigenous cultures and to question the adoption of
‘global culture’. [2] And there is Agustinus Prayitno himself in the House in puppet form shown on equal footing with a puppet Barak Obama.

It’s hard to know what context Thomas
Platter was fitting Julius Caesar into. (Something for the tourists in
Elizabethan London? An illustration of quaint local customs?) Much tougher now
when so much global ‘entertainment’ is on offer. But the Festival and The House
of Masks and Puppets exist as a powerful living counter.

Alanna Maclean.

Especial thanks to Salmyyah Raheem for her assistance before and during
the Festival.

Thursday, December 19, 2013

This is my very first entry on the Canberra Critics Circle blog, and I am hoping that it works. Please excuse any bungles and fluffs.
This post is about successful students and the profession that they have pursued. I have always been aware that drama teachers and theatre companies tend to overlook alumni who have gone on to achieve excellence in the performing arts.
Last weekend I was in Melbourne and noticed that Leon Ford from Narrabundah College will be appearing as Elyot in the MTC's production of "Private Lives." SBS screened a rather dubious award-winning movie "Sleeping Beauty" which also featured two Narrabundah College graduates, Robin Goldsworthy and Henry Nixon.
Neil Armfield's delightful production of "Book of Everything" in the MTC's Sumner Theatre featured St. Clare's graduate, Alison bell, who has been making a name for herself in the theatre profession.
Ron Cerebona's article today about Lachlan Ruffy who has been accepted into WAAPA, highlights the talent of this St. Francis Xavier student.
This is just the tip of the iceberg of ex Canberrans who are making their mark in the theatre in Australia. Graham Henstock and Rhys Holden from Narrabundah are making waves as former Head of Lighting at STC, and Rhys Holden is now General manager of La Boite in Brisbane. Soren Jensen from Canberra College, or Phillip College as it was in his time, is constantly busy in Melbourne and Rhys Muldoon has come a long way since his student days at Hawker College. And the list goes on. I'm interested in hearing of the achievements of Canberrans on the national and international stage. Narrabundah student, Adam Spreadbury-Maher, who trained as an opera singer and not in drama, is now Artistic Director of the Kings Head Theatre in Islington, London, and will be directing A Tale of Two Cities at the Q Theatre after its successful world professional premiere at the Kings Head.
It is high time that Canberra recognized and lauded its many success stories, and, as Ron has done today, promoted the Canberrans who will definitely make an impact on the theatre industry in Australia and overseas in the future.
This is a pilot posting, but I hope that other critics may also reveal the many success stories that have grown out of Canberra and fuelled the creative spirit of this nation.

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

For the last
six years, QL2 Dance has been bringing together current dance students from
tertiary institutions across Australasia to choreograph, collaborate and
perform in an initiative entitled “ON COURSE”.Over a two week period, young choreographers are provided with the
opportunity and resources to choreograph a short work of no longer in length
than 10 minutes.

This year
participating choreographers came from the Queensland University of Technology
(QUT), Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), Victorian College
of Arts (VCA), Deakin University and New Zealand School of Dance (NZSD). Some,
though certainly not all, had participated in previous QL2 programs. Their
dancers are current members of Quantum Leap, some of the choreographers
themselves and others attracted to Canberra by the opportunity to participate in
the “On Course” project. They also receive technical assistance to realise
their ideas, as well as mentorship by Ruth Osborne and Adelina Larsson.The
resultant works are given two performances over two nights before a paying
audience.

Given the
limited time at their disposal, a polished end performance is not the main aim
of the project. The focus is more towards the exploration of ideas, as well as providing
opportunities for the young choreographers to engage with dancers from other
institutions. Most of the works shown in “On Course 2013” however were indeed
surprisingly polished and well danced, indicating how well these young emerging
choreographers are equipped to produce interesting dance while coping with tight
deadlines.

It was
interesting to see the emergence, of so many young male choreographers and
dancers this year. Five of the seven works were choreographed by men. Not
unexpectedly most tackled weighty issues with their works, but often with an
engaging and refreshing dash of humour.

"Sway" choreographed by Harry Morrissey
Photo: Lorna Sim

Harry Morrissey from WAAPA utilised six male dancers
to explore concepts of identity and individuality in his work “Sway”. Created
to a spoken voice sound track, Morrissey drew on the individual skills of his
dancers to perform a series of quirky duets and solos punctuated by unison
movement to create a good-humoured, thoughtful work.

Also from
WAAPA, Dean Ryan Lincoln worked with
six dancers, two girls and four boys, and an interesting movement
vocabularyto explore issues affecting
existence in his work, “Circle of Nothing”, danced to a soundscape, some of
which he composed himself, and which
included voices intoning statements such as “Have youwritten a letter to your mother today ?”.

Eliza Sanders, a former Canberra dancer now with
New Zealand School of Dance, made use of striking props in her solo work,
“Queen”. Among them, a huge set of buffalo horns and a fur collar with which
she created a series of striking visual images during her athletic solo.

Eliza Sanders in "Queen"
Photo: Lorna Sim

Sanders also
made an amusing appearance, singing and dancing as a somewhat-confused Kate
Bush-like character, in a witty piece, choreographed and danced by VCA student,
Chad McLachlan, entitled “Base
Point”.

Mackenzie Burn, from QUT, created a lovely work on
six female dancers to explore the phenomenon of child marriage. Although “Lapse”
contained some lovely moments, without knowing the Kristyn Tremble artwork
which inspired the piece, it was difficult to know whether it achieved its
purpose, but it was, never-the-less, an engrossing and visually rewarding work.

Another
former Canberra dancer, Paul Jackson,
now at Deakin University, offered “Quartet”, a work for two girls and two boys,
danced to “By the Wall” by Tomas Dvorak, which included some quite lovely
moments in which the dancer’s movements suggested leaves gently blowing in the
wind.

“Of Primeval
Human” was the name given to the work of another WAAPA dancer, Robert Tinning. Choreographed on two
female dancers and four male dancers, this impressive abstract work was notable
for its large sweeping movements and impressive floor work, and for its
satisfying conclusion, one of the few works which didn’t just stop at the end
of the music.

Jack Riley in "Building Elvis"
Photo: Lorna Sim

Prior to the
seven programmed works, audiences were treated to a sneak-peek of a moody solo,
“Building Elvis” choreographed by Ruth Osborne and Jack
Riley, and
danced beautifully by Riley to Elvis Presley songs, arranged in a soundscape by
Kimmo Vennonen. This work was a commission by the National Portrait Gallery to
celebrate the current exhibition of Elvis Presley photographs.

Several of
the works made extensive use of video projections and all had the advantage of Guy
Harding’s excellent lighting design.

Following
the performance, as is usual at QL2 presentations, the audience had the
opportunity to question the assembled chorographers and dancers about their
various works. Their answers provided revealing insights into the motivation
and inspirations of the works just performed.

Monday, December 16, 2013

Music by Giuseppe VerdiLibretto by Eugene Scribe and Charles DuveyrierConducted by Antonio PappanoDirected by Stefan HerheimCaptured live at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, September 17, 2013Presented on screen by Palace Cinemas

Review by Len Power 1 December 2013

Only
a few years ago, leafing through old, tattered copies of London’s ‘Punch’
magazine or New York’s ‘The New Yorker’ in your doctor’s waiting room, you
could only sigh with envy at the list of musicals, plays and operas with top
artists that those cities played host to.Now, we have digital live performances of these shows being screened in
our cinemas even while a particular show is still running overseas.These aren’t films based on a show.They are the actual show as seen live on
stage.High definition cameras recording
the event and masterly editing techniques ensure that we can enjoy the show at
a fraction of the price of a seat and that’s not counting the cost of an
airfare to get there in the first place!

I
took the opportunity recently to see my first ever production of Giuseppe
Verdi’s rarely performed opera, ‘The Sicilian Vespers’, which was beamed in to
Canberra’s new Palace Cinemas as part of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden’s
season of digital live performances.

This
opera was the first of two that Verdi wrote with a French text for the Paris
Opera.It was first performed in 1855,
putting it between La Traviata and the first version of Simon Boccanegra.It was an attempt to emulate the success of
Meyerbeer’s Parisian grand operas but it’s rarely heard today.In fact, this production which opened in
October is also the first time it has been staged by the Royal Opera House,
Covent Garden and marks Verdi’s bicentenary this year.

This
production differs from the normally expected staging.Norwegian director, Stefan Herheim, has moved
the action of the opera from 13th century, French-occupied Sicily to
1855 Paris, the year of the opera’s premiere, and sets it in the Salle le
Peletier, the theatre in which that first performance took place. Not only does
this point up the tensions between the people and the military but also shows
how artists are exploited by the society that creates them.

Designer,
Philipp Fuerhofer, has designed a lavish and remarkable set showing
cross-sections of auditorium and stage.While it looked superb, adding this level of complexity made the story
confusing at times.Another surprise was
that the half hour long third act ballet, a requirement for Paris operas at the
time it was written, has disappeared, although dance still remains an important
element of the production throughout the show with excellent choreography by
Andre De Jong.

There
was thrilling chorus singing throughout the opera and Michael Volle as
Montfort, the French governor and Bryan Hymel as Henri, his illegitimate son by
a Sicilian peasant woman, sang their highly emotional roles superbly.Lianna Haroutounian, a late replacement for
the ailing originally scheduled soprano, sang the role of Helene well, if a bit
tentatively at times.Conductor, Antonio
Pappano, did excellent work with the orchestra and huge cast, keeping the
tension and colour in the music throughout the performance.

Although
four and a half hours long including two intervals, the opera was constantly enjoyable.The picture and sound quality in the Palace
cinema was excellent.Next in this
season of broadcast operas at the Palace is Verdi’s ever-popular, ‘Aida’, from
December 20 to 23.I’ll see you there!

Originally broadcast on Artsound
FM 92.7 ‘Dress Circle’ program on Sunday 15 December 2013.

‘A
funny thing happened on the way to decorum’.That’s just one of the deadly lines in Everyman Theatre’s revival of
‘The Musical of Musicals’ (The Musical!).Written by Joanne Bogart and Eric Rockwell, this musical satire opened
off-Broadway in 2003 and has had great success internationally.Everyman Theatre first presented it here in
Canberra in 2009 and now it makes a welcome return.

It
is structured into five acts, each of which is a short musical parodying (and
paying homage to) the style of an American or British musical theatre composer
or composer/lyricist team, all dealing with roughly the same classic melodrama
plot, "I can't pay the rent!"Obviously, the more knowledge you have of musicals, the more fun you
will have with this show.However, one
of the group of people I saw it with on opening night had very little knowledge
of musicals and still thought it was very funny and very enjoyable.

Everyman
Theatre was lucky to be able to re-assemble the same cast as in their original
production.The four principles, Adrian
Flor, Jarrad West, Louiza Blomfield and Hannah Ley are a great team.They’re all excellent singers and dancers who
easily handle the very different musical styles and also have the acting skills
to get the most out of the multiple characters they play.Watching Adrian Flor as Big Willie in the ‘Oklahoma’ spoof is worth the price of admission alone and every
cast member has their hilariously memorable moments.Duncan Driver, one of the directors of the
show, appears now and then as a kind of narrator and is wickedly funny.

Nicholas
Griffin was the musical director for the opening night and played the tricky
solo piano score superbly.

The
set is a wonderful mess of musical props and appears to be mainly the work of
Louiza Blomfield who is credited with design.Sharp-eyed audience members will notice that there are numerous props
from previous Everyman productions sprinkled here and there.It was enhanced by a good atmospheric
lighting design by Kelly McGannon.Christine
Pawlicki and Marion West have obviously had a lot of fun with the funny and
appropriate costume designs.The
choreography in the show is by Hannah Ley and Jarrad West, who really did their
homework to pinch the correct dance styles and then satirize them to suit the
action perfectly.

Directors,
Duncan Ley and Duncan Driver, have again done a great job with this show.They obviously know their musicals and ensure
that the pace and action don’t distract from the clever satire of the writing.This is a great end of year show to relax and
enjoy.I can’t imagine anyone not
enjoying this, even if they don’t like musicals.

Originally broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7 ‘Dress
Circle’ program on Sunday 8 December 2013.

Saturday, December 7, 2013

‘And
Then There Were 3’, described as ‘a quirky comedy’, was developed as part of
the Street Theatre’s The Hive program.Written
by the director, Shelly Higgs, and Craig Alexander, who also plays the father, it’s
a heartfelt story about a young couple having a baby and learning to look after
it. They haven’t a clue where to start
and we also observe the negative impact on their relationship through the
stresses and strains that come with starting a family.

The
strength of this production is in the design and direction.It’s pretty much a family-developed show with
the clever set and imaginative props as well as costumes and sound all credited
to Craig Alexander and Shelly Higgs.The
excellent lighting design by Gillian Schwab adds strongly to the atmosphere and
Josh Jones has provided some appealing original music with songs sung mainly by
Craig Alexander.

There
are good performances from Caroline Simone O’Brien as the mother and Craig
Alexander as the father.It was an
inspired decision to have the excellent Raoul Cramer as the baby
puppeteer/Greek Chorus/props person.

Some
tightening in the writing here and there would help and, even if you argue that
these people talk this way, the frequent bad language gets a bit wearing.The straightforward story could do with a dramatic
twist or an angle to make it unique and less predictable.Nevertheless, it’s a pleasant ninety minutes
of adult fun with some universal truths that most people will be able to
identify with.

About Me

The 26 year-old Canberra Critics’ Circle is the only such group of critics in Australia that runs across all the major art forms, not just performing arts.
The circle changes each year depending on who is writing or broadcasting on the arts in Canberra.
Our aim is to provide a focal point for Canberra reviewers in print and electronic media through discussions and forums. As well, we make awards to ACT region artists (defined as within 100km radius of Canberra) in the latter part of each year.
The CCC has always resisted making awards in “best-of” categories. Arts practice is not a competitive race and Canberra is a small pool where it would be ridiculous to pre-impose categories, apart from major art form genres. The idea is that we, the critics, single out qualities we have noticed -- things which have struck us as important. These could be expressed as abstracts, like impact, originality, creativity, craftsmanship and excellence.
Our year is from September 30 2016 to September 30 2017.
Convener of the Circle is Helen Musa.